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There was much fluffing of paper, tweaking of word counts, last minute dashes to the printer and nervous energy (*panic) in MKC Towers last week as we prepared submissions for the annual Awards for Excellence in Public Relations 2015. These awards are “a benchmark for creative and strategic excellence and showcase many of the best

Communication, from Latin commūnicāre, meaning “to share”, is an omnipotent and essential constituent function of our lives. Hermit monks living on remote islands try to avoid it but even they are attempting to make contact with the man upstairs. Mass communication surrounds us at every possible juncture, from television, to newspapers, books, films, adverts and

This week Brand Finance, a UK strategy consultancy, released their Global 500 Report which listed Lego as the world’s most powerful brand, scoring highly on factors such as familiarity, loyalty, promotion, staff satisfaction and corporate reputation. This new high positioning was boosted no doubt by the critical and commercial success of the Lego Movie. It

Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move. Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love. William Shakespeare “It’s all a cod” my father used to say about any greeting card sponsored holiday such as Father’s day, Mother’s day etc, and his derision extended to St. Valentine’s Day.

2015 has arrived and with it comes a degree of expectation, hope and apprehension. Will those green shoots continue to grow? Are we finally turning that much referenced “corner” (wherever it’s located)? Will Garth Brooks be back? Will Donegal’s footballers go all the way? Combining our imaginations, wishful thinking and a small dose of reality,

After three years, six months and four days in MKC, I’m moving on. My wife, my daughter and I are moving to Washington DC where, for the first time since I bussed tables on a J1 visa in 2000, I’ll work in ‘the capital of the free world’. But before I mosey on – and

You may have heard about the puntastically named ‘Cereal Killer’ café that opened on London’s Brick Lane this week. A haven for cereal connoisseurs, the novelty eaterie is serving up over 100 types of breakfast cereals, twelve types of milk and 20 different toppings, all day long. The Branchild (first pun of many) of bearded Belfast twins Gary and Alan Keery, the café was officially unveiled yesterday with a Snap, Crackle and Pop of excited media and customers.

So what makes a good ad? Generally speaking an advertisement should grab the attention of the viewer, to illustrate the features and benefits of a particular product or service, to ignite a desire in the viewer to choose that product. Simply put it is information, emotion and a call to action. Christmas ads differ in that the emotion takes centre stage – the information and call to action are less obvious than the effort invested in eliciting an emotional response from the viewer which, hopefully, leaves them feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. And ultimately more receptive to the brand.

The world in 1942 was in the midst of a brutal and terrible war, democracy against dictatorship, right against wrong, good versus evil. While the sons of all belligerents were fighting up to their necks in blood and bullets, life at home had to go on. On this day, November 26th 1942, the infamous film

When online media reports broke on Thursday evening about the flight disruption following an Ebola scare, my first impressions were that some silly idiot had declared that he was suffering from Ebola, and had so informed flight personnel as some kind of a joke. It was an Aer Lingus flight from Milan, and resulted in